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Politics : WHO IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2004 -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (3834)	8/5/2003 11:59:02 AM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10965

Powell Calls Resignation Report 'Gossip' Secretary and Deputy Visit Bush for Talks By Mike Allen Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, August 5, 2003; Page A02 CRAWFORD, Tex., Aug. 4 -- Secretary of State Colin L. Powell dismissed today as "gossip" a report that he and his deputy, Richard L. Armitage, have signaled the White House that they intend to leave their posts even if President Bush wins a second term. Powell did not specifically address whether he would serve in a second Bush administration. Other administration officials maintained today that Powell and Armitage do not plan to continue serving if Bush is reelected. "It's nonsense. I don't know what they are talking about," Powell told Radio Sawa, a U.S. government Arabic-language station. "I serve at the pleasure of the president. The president and I have not discussed anything other than my continuing to do my job for him." Powell's comments came after The Washington Post reported that Armitage recently told national security adviser Condoleezza Rice that the two men would leave office on Jan. 21, 2005. Although Powell aides and other U.S. officials have long understood that Powell intends to leave after four years, Armitage said today that he had told Rice no such thing. Before publishing the report, the Post asked spokesmen for Armitage and Rice about the conversation and whether they would confirm or deny it took place. Both declined to answer. State Department officials are worried that word of a Powell departure will undercut his influence in the administration and undermine U.S. diplomacy around the world during the most complex period of international maneuvering in recent years. Officials said Powell does not want to be seen as a lame duck. Presidential press secretary Scott McClellan did not directly answer questions about whether Powell would serve in a second term. "The president thinks he's doing an outstanding job and appreciates the job that he is doing," he said. Asked whether Powell would serve again, State Department deputy spokesman Philip T. Reeker said, "We leave that for the president and the secretary to discuss." Powell, 66, a retired four-star Army general, was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Persian Gulf War of 1991. He was courted by Republicans to run for president in 1996, but opted not to run. Anticipation of Powell's departure could hurt Bush among moderate voters and further rattle the administration's relations with some overseas allies who strongly prefer Powell's style to the sharper-edged approach of other top members of the administration. The Post article said -- and Republican officials reiterated today -- that Rice would be the leading contender to replace Powell. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz was also mentioned as a potential successor. In the radio interview, Powell called the report "just one of those stories that emerge in Washington that reflects nothing more than gossip and the gossip leads to a rash of speculation about who might fill a vacancy that does not exist." Powell and Armitage are to arrive Tuesday for dinner at Bush's ranch near Crawford, Tex., where the president is spending August. They will confer with Bush for several hours Wednesday and then head back to Washington, aides said. The meeting was scheduled two weeks ago. Staff writer Peter Slevin contributed to this report from Washington. © 2003 The Washington Post Company